It is reported that this year, about 50 more fourth-graders
were tested and referred to Washington Gifted School for the 2011 school year than
in 2010. Apparently the District now has several new programs in place that are
designed to identify and reach high-ability learners at various grade levels.
"The key here is now there are services [gifted]
available
at every school in the district.”
at every school in the district.”
Superintendent Grenita Lathan
If that’s the case, now it's time for the District to begin sending the
gifted students that are currently isolated at Washington Gifted back to their home schools.
32 comments:
Are the children from the Quest program eligible for Washington? I wish Lathan had been more specific by stating exactly what services are available for gifted kids in other schools that would be equal to those at Washington. My opinion is that money spent on bettering education is always a plus. Now, if we didn't have to pay for police and Elite to walk the halls of our schools because way too many children are out of control, we could use that money for education also.
Quest children are eligible to apply for Washington Gifted if they live in District 150.
What services are REALLY going to be available at the home schools and to what degree?
Washington Gifted does not offer "services" but a full curriculum of challenging and accelerated learning.
Traditionally, students that were referred to Washington functioned AT LEAST a grade higher than their designated class level. I do not understand how a teacher can provide a gifted 3rd grader who is ready for a 5th grade math education that type of differentiated curriculum on a consistent basis when the balance of the class is struggling with grasping 3rd grade math.
Emerge - your post reporting the District's discipline crisis followed by a post suggesting eliminating Washington Gifted seems wildly inconsistent. Let me get this straight - most teachers at the District report many students are so out of control they can barely deliver the standard curriculum due to all the interruptions, but they have the ability to deliver differentiated curriculum -- right!!!
Frustrated...
It's the school district who is implementing gifted curriculum throughout the District, while trying to deal with students that a Board member calls "atrocious" - is that what you mean by "wildly inconsistent?"
Cloyd acknowledges that "the time and money spent on student discipline "robs" the increasing numbers of students the district is exposing to gifted education programs at their home schools."
However, the Superintendent says that "gifted services are available at every school." Therefore, it is time to send students who are currently housed at Washington Gifted back to their home schools.
I'm sure the parents whose children are receiving gifted services at Trewyn or Lincoln would prefer their gifted child be isolated at Washington Gifted, but the District's boundaries have corralled them into their home schools.
It's only fair. Public school is about providing equal opportunities to a quality education to all students.
By the way Frustrated, if I wasn't busy playing the role of the devil's advocate and speaking out for what is fair and equal, I would more than likely agree with you.
I don't know if things have changed but before I retired, teachers were given instructions to provide some sort of separate attention to any students in their classes that had been labeled as "gifted." If anyone thinks that teachers with classes of 25 to 30 students (including regular students with IEP's and sometimes students from the special ed department) will be providing anything close to what is offered at Washington, they are living in a dream world.
When the District takes care of the discipline problems in schools, then I believe there could be a discussion about the wisdom of disbanding Washington. The problem as I see it is that most parents with students at Washington would be finding other alternatives--District 150 would lose enrollment. It is one of the few safe havens left in District 150--and I know that it, also, offers that haven to only a relatively few students. It's a problem all round.
I have never liked the exclusive nature of Washington--would always prefer to return to the days when I was in school when the gifted kids were in their home school buildings. However, too much has changed--and would need to be changed to return to that plan.
First of all, Washington isn't the same school it was years years ago. Then it was a school that definitely challenged students with innovative curriculum. Staff made the difference and were trained in gifted education. I wonder how many staff members today have gone through the same type of training.
Second of all, how in the world can a classroom teacher address the gifted students while still handling the discipline issues that go on daily while trying to teach everyone? Perhaps if each building had a specialist in gifted education students might have the advantage of at least a class period or two each day with their gifted peers.
All children in District 150 deserve safe haven, not just those that attend school at Washington Gifted.
Not all teachers are trained in providing a "gifted" education, the same way they are not all trained to provide for special education students. Thus, many students have a "one-on-one" provider with them, though that person is not necessarily a teacher, but an assistant.
Mostly, what smarter kids get is more work, less attention. They often do not cause the problems, but have to sit there waiting to be educated while the frustrated students who don't want to learn or don't understand the curriculum cause havoc.
Why aren't the gifted children at Lincoln and Trewyn at Washington? All students have the same opportunity, do they not? Unless of course, their parent is a Dist. 150 employee, perhaps.
In our school district, a student is considered "gifted" by testing in the 95th percentile. Services are provided at each school and currently start in the 3rd grade. The approach includes whole class instruction (for those schools with sufficient numbers) as well as small groups (either pull-out or push-in) by a trained gifted teacher. Those same gifted teachers also help support classroom teachers with students just below the gifted label (generally 80-95th percentile). Students are considered gifted in math, language or both.
Jon - Do you know what the threshold requirement is for "gifted" designation at District 150? The students that I am familiar with that attended Washington in the past cleared that 95th percentile requirement and them some.
There is nothing "fair or equal" about allowing a student scoring in the 99th percentile to sit in a classroom day after day where the majority of the students are not even performing at grade level. A pull-out program or some extra work will not do the trick for a talented student trapped in an underperforming environment.
Dissolve Washington and send them all back to their home schools. Who will that really hurt?? In the past 2/3rds of the kids at Washington came from Kellar, Charter Oak, and Northmoor. Great! Send those kids back and they will hook up with their old friends that just missed the cut to make it into Washington and so . . . Lindbergh is able to expand its advanced course offerings and with the addition of another 15 or so talented students to the mix it becomes a mini-Washington. BUT . . . what about the students sent back to Trewyn. Is there 20 kids there to field a 7th grade Algebra I class??
Frustrated, I agree--nobody would really be helped by closing Washington because, as you have stated, the majority of students come from District 150 schools that are already operating at a higher academic level (and it's the chicken and the egg argument: which comes first the academic readiness or the behavior)? I guess one can say that no one would be hurt then--except those few students who do come from lower performing schools.
Sharon - your "adopted" granddaughter would have been one that would have been left in a lower performing school if Washington did not exist, right?
Don't you believe she has been enriched, that her game has been improved by attending school with a large group of other bright students that are ambitious and eager to get ahead?
That is exactly why I agreed with you. I believe that Whittier gave her an excellent start. Also, I remember the day when many young people just like her went to Calvin Coolidge and went on to do very well in high school (at Manual in enriched classes--without the Richwood's IB program). I am so sorry that those days are over.
Until the climate and academic performance improves at so many 150schools, I believe that Washington is needed.
Frustrated, when I looked at the data, only 60 students were allowed in each grade. Multiple tests were used, given a weighting (Weschler was highest) and the top 60 scores of the weighted average was selected.
In our current district, rather than multiple tests, the MAP scores are used. For the year I looked at the data for D150, of the 60 highest scoring students in the entering 5th grade, only 13 scored in the 95th percentile for both reading and math and 18 of the 60 didn't score in the 95th percentile for either reading or math. Further, there were at least 11 students who scored in the 95th percentile for either reading or math on the MAP, but their total average score of all tests/criteria didn't average out in the top 60.
The majority of middle school students in D150 ARE performing at or above grade level, as measured by the Illinois school report card (meets/exceeds). For example, Von Steuben had 76% meets/exceeds in 2011 and Columbia had 73% meets/exceeds. Even the lowest-scoring schools, Trewyn and Lincoln, had 46% and 47%, respectively. In our current district, middle school students who are not gifted are further assigned to accelerated and regular courses. As such, one could easily envision Trewyn and Lincoln essentially assigning students into one of two classes – either meets/exceeds or NOT meets/exceeds. The gifted students would of course be in a class where all students are at least at grade level. Those schools could still address the gifted students by pull-out or push-in for their applicable area of gifted ability.
Sharon, your logic in support of Washington Gifted is easily applied to those who support Quest.
Jon, I sort of understand your point about Washington being the same as Quest in that both schools represent a choice by parents.
I think I have previously acknowledged that I understand a parent's desire for choice.
Of course, the two schools differ in how students are selected. Also, I am not at all certain (from what I hear) that Quest is as much a haven from problems as was expected. I am hearing stories about discipline problems, bullying, and unfair treatment of teachers, who have no protection from bullying.
Yes, I know you will roll out test scores, which--as I have said before--are meaningless at this point because most of these students received their grades 1-3, 4, or 5 in District 150--so it's hard to determine whether or not these students would have done just as well had they stayed in their home schools.
Can a case be made that Washington still draws the top students in District 150 (of those who choose to go to Washington)--isn't it just that the number of qualified students who are staying in District 150 are dwindling?
Yes - it is about choice (and that choice can be about safety/discipline, academics, extracurriculars...virtually anything that motivates a parent/student).
And it's exactly the case that the number of gifted students in D150 has dwindled. One can quibble about how to determine who is gifted/selected, such as whether to average the tests and which test to include and/or weight, but the process is applied equally and the only way favoritism could really play a part is if someone actually changed a student's scores (and I don't believe that to be the case).
The original purpose of Washington Gifted as a SEPARATE school was that these unique students, those few who BECAUSE they were truly gifted, performed much higher in a completely separate environment - such that the benefits outweighed the costs. That purpose seems to have changed, though that isn't inherently wrong. The question is whether the benefits still outweigh the costs.
Jon, do you know when Washington Gifted opened? Do you think there is even the most remote possibility that it opened as a path for parents to remove their children from integrated schools? Personally, I think the possibility is far from remote. Can you comprehend why it has been so difficult to see an influx of black students even in 2012? Can you perhaps understand why many of the older members of the black community might look askance at Washington Gifted?
Sharon - yes to all, though I don't know why you directed those questions to me.
No sinister reason, Jon, but because you brought up the original reason for the school, and we were the main two people having this discussion--actually a good one, don't you think?
Whoa...slow down there, girl....I don't think I'm ready for that kind of relationship :)
Jon - Thanks for the data.
I agree that because of flight from the District, perhaps not quite as stellar a group feeds into Washington. But . .it could also be that the particular class of incoming 5th graders that you have data for were not as talented -- it happens.
My oldest, now a Senior attended Washington, and her class has some amazingly talented students. Can't say what there MAPS scores were but there ACT scores range between 32-35 (36 being the top score). Too early to report yet about college acceptance but the group has applied to schools such as MIT, Yale, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, you get the idea.
So . . .I believe there is still a need for such a school.
Jon - I dug out my kids old Washington test info which provides a class average for each test element.
The Weschler Full Scale score average for the class of 60 was 125 for my oldest and 124 for the other. What was the Full Scale score for your class?
Frustrated...
What school did your children attend before going to Washington Gifted?
I ask this question because in certain schools children who were/are gifted have been over looked. There were no enriched classes, there was no expectation of children from certain zip codes being exceptional.
Even if the children got waivers to "better schools", they were placed by what neighborhood they came out of. There has even been examples of setting up Title 1 classrooms. I personally could write a complete blog post about that - but I won't.
Now the services the District is providing will find these children even if they are at Trewyn or Lincoln. And just because their scores may not be as stellar as scores coming from Lindbergh or Northmoor does not mean that they are not just as gifted as children who have been groomed to be exceptional and had every opportunity from the get go.
I know it is not your intention, but your comparisons are beginning to sound a bit elitist to me. Sharon has touched on how exclusionary Washington Gifted has always been. While pulling out past scores of students who used to attend Washington Gifted, past history of this District's discriminatory and exclusionary practices cannot be overlooked.
Additionally, let's not forget the students who come from families with means who take the Weschler to get familiar with it before taking it to go Washington Gifted...
Emerge - I applaud the District offering gifted services at the home schools but question whether it will really make a commitment to this endeavor. Even if it does, I do not think it precludes Washington Gifted from continuing as is.
I am sorry my comments came off as elitist. My concern in the dissolution of Washington is not for those that have but those that don't. Enhanced educational opportunities have existed for some time at Lindbergh and Mark Bills and only will be expanded further if Washington is disbanded because the numbers will support it and the parents at those schools will demand it. Same old story.
Is there currently an Alegbra I class offered at the other middle schools? I don't know?
My children attended Keller. My last "graduating" in 2006. There were no organized enriched opportunities, pull-out programs etc., even though approximately 20 or more students were accepted to Washington at the time and dozens more qualified for testing.
Contrary to popular belief, though Keller did not have the discipline issues of other schools, it still had a wide-range of academic abilities. The population was not "upper class" as Sharon often characterizes all North of W. Memorial, because those folks left the District long ago. There were numerous children with learning disabilities and behavior disorders. And the children bussed in were from one of the poorest and most blighted areas of the Southside.
I felt the teachers at Keller were good - but they had their hands full and were lucky to be able to deliver the basic curriculum. There were always 2 children in the class with an aid, 4 more that needed one, and 6 high performing students that finished their work sheets and sat there until the rest finished or if they were like my child, they were assigned to tutor another child. By 4th grade my oldest came home in tears she was so unhappy.
And then there was Washington . . . my oldest thrived there and could not wait to go to school. I have been talking about this blog post to her and she said she thinks people just do not understand that it is the learning environment that makes Washington so special. She said being there made her want to up her game and do her best because others were doing the same. She does not believe that environment can easily be replicated in the home school environment. I guess we will see.
My children
Yes, I do often err by giving the impression that I believe everyone beyond War Memorial is upperclass. The truth is that many of those beyond War Memorial have actually left District 150--that's why there are students at Catholic schools, Peoria Christian, and Peoria Academy. Of course, many former residents of that area have left the city completely.
However, I do believe, in general, the schools beyond War Memorial have fewer discipline problems (more like the 1 to 4 that we had all through the city at the beginning of my career).
And I do know that my "pretend" granddaughter would not have been able to enjoy the same academic climate had she not gone to Washington. However, Whittier did prepare her very well. She was academically ready for Washington.
Had she not gone to Richwoods, she probably would not have done so well as a diver (she would not have been a member of a truly competitive team). She probably would have done as well in speech at Manual; however, she would not have had the competitive experience within her own school. I believe she would have done well in both areas, mostly because her mother did much of the "motivating" and much of her training in both areas. However, there is no doubt that she has benefitted from going to schools where she could interact with whole classes of kids (not just three or four students in a class) that are academically ready and motivated.
Sharon - that is what I am talking about.:)
I understand your argument Frustrated and I agree with your daughter about environment. However the point I am trying to make is in the past people who work for the District have deliberately been exclusionary, by assuming that children who don't have every advantage, or come from certain neighborhoods are not worthy of a quality education.
Recently I happened upon a 150 school that had a "looping" program. Only children who lived in the neighborhood around the school were invited to be a part of the program and received information on it. In the other classroom, children were there who had waivers and learning disabilities.
The children in the looped classroom were with the same teacher for three years, a teacher with gifted training(i.e. looped in). The children in the other classroom was with the oldest teacher in the school, who didn't even use a computer and was planning to retire. The next year those children landed in a classroom that saw constant subs. That was the year they tested for Washington Gifted.
The majority of the students in the looped in classroom tested for Washingon Gifted, two children from the other classroom tested. Who do you think had the scores to make it in? Therein lies your confirmation about the importance of environment. Again, this was recent, after 2006 when your children graduated.
This District owes it to inner city children who have been deliberately overlooked to find them and prepare them where they are.
I am willing to bet that the more inner city children make it into Washington Gifted, the more families North of War memorial will opt to stay in their home schools.
(dang it's difficult to post using an iPad!)
Wow! Very bad story Emerge. I would not think that type of bias would exist in the District in this day and age. I did not understand from your previous posts what you were getting at. I agree, everyone should have a level playing field.
I disagree with you as to how minority children are received at Washington. Our last year there was 2007 and I felt the social groups at the school were very integrated. Also, there were a number of parents with more, that made sure to take care of those with less. Lots of sleepovers, playdates, parties, even summer camp - all were included. The parents I knew and still know that send their kids to Washington are in Peoria for the long haul. These families care about their community and appreciate the diversity. The ones that are bothered by such things have already fled to the Catholic schools. Oops! Did I really just say that. :}
yep, you said it...
By the way... I never said that minority students were not well received at Washington Gifted.
I know from experience that children who enjoy enriched learning experiences also appreciate diversity.
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